


At the end of Loss

by SofaKills



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Coping well meets coping badly: the fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:15:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SofaKills/pseuds/SofaKills
Summary: Brook clashes with Baron Omatsuri in place of Luffy, having seen the signs of what's really going on behind the cheerful facade that the island holds up as a mask.
Relationships: Brook & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy (mentioned) - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	At the end of Loss

**Author's Note:**

> this is going to be fleshed out some in time, but i just wanted to throw it out there for us movie 6 fans! enjoy!

"... Omatsuri. What have you done?" Brook asks, staring with hollow sockets at the haggard Baron's face. 

The bowstring creaks as the man draws it, but Brook remains steadfast, waiting for his answer with one hand on his cane. 

"What do you think, skeleton man?" the Baron asks, the mountain looming over them. The clouds have cleared, revealing the true form of the thing at its very top. "They'll disappear soon, so I suppose I can share this with you while your captain flounders uselessly." 

"... What?" Brook asks, his fingers creaking from how tight his grip is. 

"Lily is feeding on them, you see. That's what they deserve, after falling apart so easily from my schemes." the Baron replies, and lets the arrow fly. 

That very arrow is swiftly cut, and Brook sheathes his sword. 

"You.. Monster! What gives you the right to use their lives to lie to yourself?!" Brook calls out, cutting yet another arrow into pieces as he steps closer to him. 

"For how long do you think I've had to live with this pain? Of knowing that they're never coming back to me, while none of the crews coming here have ever known such suffering! They steep in arrogance, refusing to understand just how weak they are!" the Baron retorts, drawing his bow once more. 

"... You think that you're in the right? You honestly believe that doing this to other pirates will soothe your pain? For how many years have you allowed yourself to live this sham of a life, Omatsuri! Ten, twenty years?! Throwing yourself into denial like this has destroyed you, and yet you don't see it?" 

Brook's words seem to strike a chord in the Baron, as his aim falters for just long enough to let the skeleton tear the bow out of his hold, grasping his shirt collar to pull the man up to his height. 

"You speak of loss as the end of your world, without seeing that it's also the dawn of a new one. I... I understand your suffering, your loneliness, how much it hurts to think of their faces, their voices, and all the things that you'll never get to see again... But!" his grip tightens, his entire body trembling. 

"You cannot inflict that pain on someone else, not without losing yourself! You should have _grieved_ for them, Omatsuri! Think, for once, about how they feel about all of this! What would your precious crew think if they saw you like this, a shell of the man you used to be!"

"What do _you_ know about me?! You condemn my actions and yet spout words of understanding, as if you know anything!" Omatsuri barks, bewildered and angered in equal measure as he glares into the empty sockets. 

"I _do_ know, you lost little child!" Brook retorts, untold sadness slipping past his anger as he speaks once more. "I lost my crew long before you were even _alive_ , and I have lived with my grief ever since! You at least had the luxury of knowing their deaths without witnessing them yourself, and yet you _still_ think it just to tear the hopes and dreams of fellow pirates to pieces?! I watched all the remaining men in the Rumbar Pirates _die_ before my eyes, but I didn't have the salvation of grieving, no, because we still had to keep playing! We had to sing until our very last breaths, and we did! I watched them fall one by one, knowing that I would be the only one left!" 

As if to punctuate those words, he lets the man fall back onto the ground, staring down at him with empty sockets. The abyss he once dwelled in swells, decades of untold grief manifesting under the darkening sky. 

"Omatsuri, I beg you to show mercy. For his sake, as well as mine. Losing his crew, losing everyone but me, will kill him." His voice shakes, his hands trembling even as he secures a grip on his sword. "If you cannot grant me that, then let this be the place where I let your suffering end." 

As he speaks, he unsheathes his sword once more, the tip finding its place over the man's throat. And still, he doesn't seem to feel any fear. Instead, the Baron seems... Resigned. Apathetic in the face of another with the resolve to kill. 

"... I can't do that. Not without killing Lily." Omatsuri says, reflexively raising a hand to cover the ever-present flower sprouting from his shoulder. 

"... Very well." 

With those words hovering between them, Brook stabs through the man's hand and pierces through the 'head' of the flower. The twin screams of anguish born from that choice don't faze him in the slightest as he repeats it, destroying the thing that's kept the man anchored to his memories without reprieve. 

The shock of it all has robbed Omatsuri of his voice, and all he can do is tremble before the other pirate, this harbinger of death. The destroyer of the fragile order that rules this island with but one flower to its name. 

"... Do you wish to go to them? To the other side?" Brook asks, softly, as he kneels next to the fallen Omatsuri. 

"... Yes." 

The simple want rings clear, and Brook sighs once through bleached teeth before raising his blade once more. 

"I pray that you will find them, Omatsuri. That they will reach out to your wayward soul, and bring you home." With those words lingering still, he pierces the man's heart in a single swift strike and withdraws to let the wound run its course. 

The stage is ruined, its actors all but torn away from their roles, but Brook watches the lead make his way out with fumbling steps in silence. He watches until the Baron's body goes truly still, and then reaches down to gently fold his hands over his chest. He adjusts the torn fabric of the man’s shirt, removing the traces that Lily had burrowed deep within him, and lays his bow next to him. 

"Brook! Where've you been, we got really wo-” 

That question is swiftly replaced with silence, as the rest of the crew make their way over to their musician.


End file.
